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[0:00] Today, my message is about leaven. Just a little leaven, just a little bit of leaven.

[0:20] ! Leaven means yeast. It's that which makes the dough rise in the loaf.! And leaven is talked about in the Bible as something that symbolizes things. And leaven has a striking impact. Think of a little bit of yeast in a piece of dough as a big impact on that dough, a strong impact. It makes the dough rise.

[0:43] It makes the cake or the loaf become a loaf. It spreads, it pervades. It's got a real influence. And the Word of God talks about leaven in a number of ways. And look at a couple of those.

[0:57] Firstly, leaven is a symbol of sin. Leaven is a symbol of sin. In Exodus 12, 15, the Israelites were instructed to remove any leaven, every piece of leaven, any part of leaven from their homes. They had to remove it in preparation for the Passover feast. And in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul talks about the church of God. And he says that leaven needs to be removed from the church. And he explains that in 1 Corinthians 5, from verse 6. He says here, 1 Corinthians 5, verse 6.

[1:41] desde desde desde Purge out therefore the old leaven that ye may be a new lump as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

[1:54] Therefore let us keep the feast not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

[2:08] In the context here he's talking about sin. There were some sinful things going on where there was fornication. There was a man who had his father's wife.

[2:18] It was gross. It was ugly. It was sinful. And Paul says a little leaven is going to leaven. It's going to spread. It's going to manifest itself.

[2:30] It's going to infect and spread through the whole lump that was the church of God. And he instructed that this sinful conduct, this sinful person be removed for the sake of the church.

[2:44] And we think of how you have a bad apple in a bag full of apples. Or we see, I'm sure ladies have experienced it. My lovely wife gets these lovely veggies and tomatoes and things and leaves them for me to eat.

[3:02] But if I don't get to them, just one starts to get a bit mouldy. And before you know it, it just spreads, doesn't it? Right through the whole packet, the whole bunch of them. And like that, sin spreads when it's not dealt with.

[3:16] It's a defiling thing in an individual and in a body. It disrupts the worship of God. It defiles the believer. And it's like yeast in a batch of dough.

[3:30] It spreads through. And it's a corrupting thing. And leaven too is talked about as being a representing of arrogance and hypocrisy, as we'll see referred to later.

[3:44] And the leaven, Paul says, he says it's like malice or hatred and wickedness. Puffed up people. Think of leaven makes the dough rise.

[3:56] And sometimes we can get puffed up too and proud and arrogant as the Pharisees were. So we see leaven is a symbol of sin. And it's also a symbol of false teaching.

[4:08] False teaching. In Matthew 16, 12, our Lord talks about the doctrine of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. He says that it's like a leaven. It's like that piece of leaven in the dough.

[4:21] It's the doctrine, the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. So, brothers and sisters, we need to be careful about our teaching. It's important.

[4:32] It matters. False teaching. In the case of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, it was mixed in with a lot of good stuff. The Pharisees and the Sadducees, they had it all down pat.

[4:44] They had a lot of good things in what they were teaching. A lot of truth to what they were on about and standing for. But there was just that easy, weasy little bit of leaven, just that little bit of false doctrine that permeated their lives and was resident in their hearts.

[5:02] And this is the danger that we see in the church of God today. You know, there's many noble and commendable things going on in all manner of churches. But we always need, every one of us, in every aspect and in everything that we say and do, in here and in what we watch on television or hear over radio messages or read in print.

[5:25] I know there's some godly people in our church that get various material. And some of it's from, you could say, dubious sources. And we all need to be careful of that.

[5:37] I know people were showing me different magazines. And I said, we'd prefer not to put that particular magazine out. As much as we know there's a lot of truth in there and wholesome and good stuff, it's just that little bit of leaven can make a big impact for the worse.

[5:54] And like that too, there's as many great preachers and teachers who you can turn your radio or TV knob to receive their transmissions.

[6:05] But you've got to be discerning all the time about what is being taught. Does it stack up? Does it measure up? Like that too, I know someone was telling me there's a crusade happening in our city where they're saying all the churches are getting together.

[6:23] Well, our church isn't involved in that. Why? Because there's a dangerous mix. There's a dangerous mix where truth, there's a lot of truth there. And God willing, and we pray people will get saved in these meetings.

[6:37] But the danger is the little bit of leaven can leaven the whole lump. And where doctrine is confused and mish-mashed and mixed together, there's a danger there. Now, I'm not saying individuals here might like to go to those meetings.

[6:51] That's your conscience. That's your individual choice. It's like what TV programs you watch or what material you read or who you might follow or whether you go to the latest film or listen to the latest music.

[7:07] That's your individual choice. That's not something that I can dictate to you. But the Word of God dictates to us that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. And that's why we need to be careful. And in Luke 12.1, we see the Pharisees had a leaven.

[7:23] He called it hypocrisy. False teaching, in the case of the Pharisees, was mixed with hypocrisy and hardness of heart. They were pretending to be something they were not.

[7:34] We need to be careful with that. Not everyone who holds a Bible in their hand is a minister of the Gospel. Not everyone who teaches you from an open Bible is sent from God. We need to be careful in discerning what is coming out of their mouth.

[7:48] What are they standing for? What are the teachings and practices they're actually promoting? And for example, in the case of this crusade, there's all manner of things to have a look at this man who's coming.

[7:58] And he promotes the falling in the Spirit, all kinds of carry-on and hoo-ha. It's dangerous stuff when you get mixed together with that. As much as there might be some Gospel content to what is said and done.

[8:12] When there's some dance and hip-hop and carry-on in the way they're presenting, what they're presenting. That's a little leaven, brother. That's a little leaven, sister, we need to be aware of and careful of and not swallow something that could harm us spiritually.

[8:30] And there was a hardness of heart. Our Lord was aggrieved with it. In Mark 3, 5, he says that there was a hardness of heart that was resident in the lives of the Pharisees.

[8:41] He warns against a dangerous mixing, a blending, a confusion. He warns against, in Matthew 15, 9, he says, In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

[8:54] Some people have got vain doctrine, false doctrine, hardness of heart, hypocrisy. And the Word of God right through talks about this leaven that can leaven the whole lump.

[9:07] It's like weeds in the lawn. You know, I try to get every little weed. I know I was talking to someone yesterday as we were talking and picking through the grass.

[9:19] And there's just always one more weed there, isn't there? Just always one more weed to pull out of that lawn. And you just need to leave one little seed. And you're done for, aren't you?

[9:29] It's almost a vain exercise. I know someone's telling me just if I leave it, at least they're green. But I think a little weed can leaven, can spread, can permeate a whole lawn.

[9:41] And like that too, like cancer. A little bit of cancer. You know, we know it's true that just a little bit of cancer can spread. And it just permeates the whole body. It's in the bones, the tissues, the whole system.

[9:54] And before you know it, there's no getting out of it. But if you get that cancer in the early stage, you can't possibly stop it from spreading. A little cancer can cause a lot of damage.

[10:06] It's like gangrene. You hear about someone who gets maybe a little sore toe, maybe a little cut, a little infection. Just a little cut. Just a little infection. Just a little bit of gangrene.

[10:17] Poor gangrene. Chop it off. You know, don't wait for it to spread. Just a little leaven. Cut it out. Remove it. Don't play with it. It's dangerous.

[10:28] It's damaging. And the Bible says that some teaching, some doctrine is a dangerous kind of leaven that is going to spread and do damage. It's dangerous.

[10:38] It's damaging. We need to stand against such things, not join hands with false teaching that is faulty and flawed. Now some people in our day, they discount doctrine.

[10:49] They discount doctrine. And I know my dad's talking about unity tonight. We believe in unity. That is unity based on the foundation. Unity on the foundation.

[11:00] We can be one on the word of God, on the truth of God's word. It's not a false unity where it's a cobbled together kind of mishmash and hodgepodge of all kinds of ideas.

[11:12] And where there might be some who might be bowing down literally to idols and worshipping Mary or whatnot and thinking that they're on the same page.

[11:22] They're not on the same page. They're not in the same book. Amen. Brothers and sisters, some doctrine is dangerous, is damaging, is faulty and flawed.

[11:33] Some discount doctrine. They say, we don't teach doctrine. Doctrine divides. But Bible doctrine does matter. Now I'm not standing here saying that I'm the fount of all knowledge and I've got everything down pat and I never make a mistake or get a wrong idea in my head.

[11:52] But Bible doctrine does matter. It does matter. It is important. And so we always need to be searching the scriptures, seeing if these things are so prayerfully seeking God and learning and growing as a Christian.

[12:06] It is important what we teach, what we teach and practice, that it's biblical, that it's sound doctrine. And today we see a Trojan horse style of takeover of the Church of God.

[12:22] I heard the legend of the Trojan horse. I'm not sure was it a true story where they built a horse and it was a gift to the city as a kind of peace offering.

[12:34] But inside that wooden horse were these enemy troops. And as the village let that Trojan horse into their fortress, they thought, wow, that's kind of them sending us a nice lovely gift, a horse, a Trojan horse.

[12:51] But as soon as it was inside the gates, as the city slept, the enemy soldiers stormed out of that Trojan horse in which they had been hiding and they overtook the city and conquered it.

[13:03] And like that too, there's a Trojan horse of false teaching, of false doctrine. That's a takeover. It's a takeover of the Church of God from the inside out.

[13:14] As you might let, just a little bit of doctrine, just a little bit of leaven, just a little bit of a Trojan horse. We're giving away our standards, our separation, our sanctification.

[13:26] That's the danger, brothers and sisters, as the Church edges ever closer, more closer to the world, to the one world religion and to a false unity.

[13:38] That is spiritually lethal. A mishmash of truth and error. Because interdenominational, ultimately it leads to multi-faith.

[13:49] Multi-faith. We're seeing it all around us. There's amazing accounts you can hook into on the internet of some of these trends that are happening. As much as there's some popular names out there who write some great books.

[14:04] There's good stuff in there. You know, the purpose-driven life. There's good stuff in there. But there's elements of lethal stuff, of dangerous stuff, of dubious stuff that we need to be very careful of and wary about.

[14:20] Our Lord warns in Hosea 4.6 that my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Apostasy is rampant today. It's rampant and I think we've almost grown unaware of it.

[14:34] We've grown oblivious to it, that we don't realise it. It's like what Brother Jim was saying before about Remembrance Day. Remembrance Day used to be a revered and honour time.

[14:47] Now it's just another day, just another hour. Who cares? You know, who cares that these people bled and died and sacrificed their lives so we could have liberty and freedom.

[14:58] And like that too, who cares about the people who bled and died, suffered at the stake, tortured and killed for their faith in Christ, for their love, for the Word of God, for the truth that we can hold it in our hands and our English language.

[15:11] The martyrs of old wouldn't bow down to Rome in all of its forms and fashions and false doctrine. Yet now we're just giving it all up for the sake of some false kind of unity.

[15:24] Brothers and sisters, my people are destroyed. Destroyed. It's destructive for lack of Bible knowledge. And the Lord Jesus says that really, knowledge is power.

[15:36] In Matthew 22, 29, he says, of the Pharisees, he says, You do err, or you're faulty, because not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.

[15:48] When we don't know the Scriptures, we don't know the power of God. But some acclaim the power of God in all kinds of manifestations and latter-day wonders.

[15:59] You know, I was watching one video and there's this church where they're saying, there's little jewels falling on people. There's diamonds and precious stones that, you know, in the worship time, people see, Oh, there's all these jewels all over the place, or gold dust, or all these manifestations.

[16:18] Brothers and sisters, it's not in here. It's some latter-day delusion that is being swept across the Church of God and the false church today.

[16:29] Brothers and sisters, we need to be careful about what we believe. And we've lost the knowing of the Scriptures and the real power of God. There's an imitation power of God that's very evident about us.

[16:41] And we need to sound a warning today. A warning! God's Word contains a warning, a rebuke. There's times for an admonition, a warning of that which is astray, astray from Bible truth.

[16:57] Teaching matters. What we believe, what we're taught, what we learn, what we receive, what we follow, it matters. It matters. Doctrine matters. Just some Scriptures.

[17:08] There's numbers of them that I'm going to flick through to exhort you that doctrine does matter. It is important. Why is doctrine important? Bible doctrine is described as refreshing like rain.

[17:23] In Deuteronomy 32.2, our Lord says, My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass.

[17:37] As the showers upon the grass. Don't you want some showers? Don't you want that doctrine to distill as the dew, to drop as the rain on our dryness? As was read in the reading.

[17:49] We want to thirst for that which is right. We want to be hungry and thirsty for the truth and be fed by it. The Word of God. Doctrine matters. It's refreshing. It's important.

[18:00] It's good. Proverbs 4.2, it's pure. Job 11.4, doctrine is pure. It's good. It's wholesome. It's good for us. Isaiah 28.9, it says, That even the young should be instructed in doctrine.

[18:16] In Isaiah 28.9, the prophet says, Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Doctrine, then that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breast.

[18:29] The very young. The very young need doctrine. And I praise God that we have a Sunday school where it's more than just stories and toys and songs.

[18:41] It's doctrine. It's doctrine. It's doctrine. It's truth. It's teaching. It's teaching truth. Soul-saving truth. Life-transforming truth. Doctrine matters.

[18:52] And doctrine should be taught to the young from the very young to the old. And doctrine is a blessing. In Mark 1.22, our Lord says that there's an authority and a truth that needs to be declared.

[19:07] Doctrine needs to be declared. In Mark 1.22, it says the folk were astonished at his doctrine. They were shocked out of their seats. They were rocked.

[19:18] They were amazed. They were astonished at the doctrine. Doctrine should be something that's transforming, that's exciting, that's stimulating, that's provoking, that's moving us onward.

[19:30] It's a doctrine that's got authority, that's got truth, life-changing truth. And in Mark 11.18, the scribes and the chief priests, they feared him. They feared him because all the people were astonished at his doctrine.

[19:46] It was astonishing. It was community-shaking. It was life-changing doctrine that they were astonished at. Look in Acts 2. We see the Bible says in Acts 2.42 that they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship.

[20:06] And in breaking of bread and prayers, it was central to godly fellowship. Doctrine was central. Teaching was central. So it's good to be fair. It's good to be instructed. God willing, we'll give more instruction on Bible doctrine, on Bible training, on Bible truth.

[20:22] And that means sometimes we'll speak against false doctrine. Because false doctrine needs to be counted with sound doctrine. Brothers and sisters. And Paul says much to Timothy about doctrine.

[20:34] You might want to follow in Timothy 1 Timothy 1. For example, he says to Timothy, be careful not to teach other doctrines. To teach other doctrines.

[20:44] He says that they might discharge some that they teach no other doctrine. No other doctrine. One of the characteristics of the end time, of the last days, is the departure from the faith.

[20:58] The doctrine of devils. The doctrine of devils. False doctrine. In 1 Timothy 4 verse 1. He says, Now the spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.

[21:16] There's a book called The Seduction. The Seduction of Christianity. It's a seduction. It's just a subtle slide. A subtle infection.

[21:27] Just a little leavening. Just a little lump. A little bit by little bit. Before you know it, it's taken over. A seducing spirit of doctrines of devils. And 1 Timothy 4.13.

[21:38] Paul urges young Timothy. He says, Give attendance to reading. Give attendance to reading. To exaltation. To doctrine. Give attendance to it.

[21:49] To reading the word of God. Read it brother. Read it sister. Individually. Personally. Get the word in your heart. In your mind. In your soul. Memorise it. Learn it.

[22:00] Chew on it. Investigate. Search it. Read it. Give attention to reading. To exaltation. Come and hear it. Exhort it. Exhort one another.

[22:11] Exhort. While you still have time. As you see the day approaching. Exhort one another. And give attention to sound doctrine. Get truth. Get it in your heart.

[22:22] In your soul. Give attendance to it. And take heed unto thyself. He says in 1 Timothy 4.16. Unto thyself. And unto thy doctrine.

[22:33] Continue in them. For in so doing. Thou shalt both save thyself. And them that hear thee. It's vital. This is soul saving truth. It's sin delivering truth.

[22:44] It's doctrine. It's essential. 1 Timothy 6.3. He says. Calls it doctrine. That is according to godliness. Wholesome words.

[22:56] He says. If any man teach otherwise. And consent not to wholesome words. Even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. And to the doctrine. Which is according to godliness. Doctrine.

[23:06] Sound teaching. Affects your life. Sound teaching. Affects the way you walk. The way you think. The way you live. Sound teaching.

[23:17] Impacts you day by day. That's what we need. Brothers and sisters. And that might mean. At times. You might come to church. And you might get stirred up. About something. That you're on about.

[23:28] That you're doing. And you. God might start to point the finger. At something in your heart. It's not me having a go. Or trying to pick on anyone. In particular. It's the word of god.

[23:39] Sometimes it's sharp. Oh. That hurt. Whew. You know. You get the word. Ah. It just gets jammed. You know. The truth hurts sometimes.

[23:50] This stuff. It's some sharp stuff in here. It's a double edged sword. It's a sharp. A convicting. A stabbing. A stirring. A provoking.

[24:02] And sometimes this is too hot to handle. It's alive. It's active. It's powerful. And brothers and sisters. We need to treat it with reverence. And to tremble at it. It's going to be sharp.

[24:14] It's going to hurt us sometimes. For our good. Just like the surgeon's scalpel. That cuts the cancer out. Psalm. It says that their word eats like a canker.

[24:24] Like cancer. Like gangrene. The word of false teachers. Can eat away. And chip away. It's just like. Just a little termite. Just a little termite in your home.

[24:40] And before you know it. I heard it's only three months for them to eat up a home. Before it's a bang. It collapses. Brothers and sisters. If you've got termites. You need to do something about them.

[24:51] And people today. Just a little leaven. Just a little bit of false teaching. Can be harmful and dangerous. All scripture is given. By inspiration of God.

[25:03] And is profitable. Profitable. For doctrine. For doctrine. Amongst other things. This is profitable. For your soul. Brothers and sisters. And you ought to preach the word.

[25:14] Even though some will not endure sound doctrine. This won't be palatable. And popular. This won't be something that will draw the crowd. Sound doctrine. Some will not endure it.

[25:26] It's a characteristic of the end times. For the time will come. When they will not. They will not endure sound doctrine. They will not endure it. But after their own lust. They shall heap to themselves.

[25:36] Teachers. Having itching ears. They'll go where they can get their ears scratched. Where they can get something. That gives them a warm and fuzzy. And gives them that little glow inside.

[25:47] And they like the style. Or whatever it is. It's about the context of the preaching. Or the message. Or the ministry. Or the meeting. Brothers and sisters. Is the sound doctrine there?

[25:58] That's what matters. Is the sound doctrine being taught? And instructed? Is the event based on sound doctrine? Or is there a little bit of leaven there?

[26:09] Maybe there's a whole lot of leaven there. Brothers and sisters. They will not endure sound doctrine. Now this word sound doctrine. The word sound. It means healthy. It means wholesome. It means something that is strong.

[26:21] And healthy. And growing. And vibrant. Healthy. It's going to do you good. It's going to increase your spiritual health. Sound doctrine is what we need. We don't need sound systems.

[26:33] We need a sound doctrine. It's not the sound system. It's not the stage. It's not the drum kit that we need. It's not the sound ministry. It's the sound doctrine that we need. Brothers and sisters.

[26:43] Sound doctrine. Everything else is peripheral. And aside from that. Irrelevant really. It's whether there's sound doctrine there. That's what counts. That's what matters.

[26:54] And we are to hold it fast. Hold fast the faithful word. As he hath been taught that he may be able by sound doctrine. Both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. That's Titus 1.9.

[27:06] Hold fast it. Hold it. And hold it fast. Hold it fast. Don't just hold this neglect fully and carelessly. We're the women fancy. When you care for it.

[27:17] When you feel like it. Hold it fast. Hold fast the sound word. Hold fast the sound doctrine. The faithful word. And speak thou the things which become sound doctrine.

[27:28] Titus 2.1. To 2. Speak. Sound doctrine. Speak it. Teach it. Exhort one another. And that's not just the preacher. It's every one of you. When you mix and mingle amongst one another.

[27:41] You see a need to exhort. Exhort one another. It doesn't have to fall on one or more. It's all. Should exhort one another. As you see the day approaching.

[27:52] Exhort one another. Speak the things. That becomes sound doctrine. And then we can be as Ephesians 4.14. It says that we be henceforth no longer. No more children. Toss to and fro.

[28:04] With every wind of doctrine. Carried about. With every wind of doctrine. There's lots of winds of doctrine about. Brothers and sisters. And I don't mean to labour this point.

[28:14] But it is a truth. It's a fact. That there's many winds of doctrine. I know there's many sources of information. And there's some great information about. Especially nowadays in the so-called information age.

[28:27] But not all. Information is knowledge. It's true knowledge. It's sound doctrine. It's faithful. The faithful word. And I know there's folk. There's a man called Glenn Beck.

[28:38] He's quite interesting to listen to. But he's. And he gave a glowing testimony. Of his salvation. In the Mormon church. And it was quite a stirring testimony.

[28:50] Of how he was baptised. In the Mormon church. And he's. Glowing on. And gloating on. About the Mormon church. Has saved him.

[29:02] The Mormon Jesus. Has saved him. And as much as. This man is. A great commentator. On current events. And a source of information. What he's promoting.

[29:12] Is dangerous. There's another man. Jesse Woodrow. I hooked into lately. He's also. On the internet. A good source of information. About end times. And what's going on. In current affairs.

[29:23] And the. The latter day. Move towards the. Antichrist. And there's a lot of good stuff. In what he says. But he's actually. Part of the apostolic. Faith movement.

[29:33] That believes you've got to. Be baptised. And speak in tongues. To be saved. And such truth. As that. It's not truth. People today. That's not truth. That is error.

[29:44] That is false doctrine. So we need to be guarded. I'm not saying. That we need to. Not. You know. Throw everything out. But be discerning.

[29:55] Be careful. You might find some good material. From. All kinds of different ministries. And sources. But be discerning. Be constantly discerning. Because that little leaven.

[30:05] Can leaven the whole lump. And make it really. Just a package that. You've just got to chuck. The whole thing out. It's like sometimes. When you go to the fridge. And you. You know. Sometimes. My lovely wife gets.

[30:16] A lovely piece of lettuce. And. But if I leave that. In the fridge too long. And it starts to get all soggy. And milchied. And brown. And slimy. And sloppy.

[30:26] And gooey. And smelly. And. But you know. Sometimes you get it to that point. Where. You can just cut the messy stuff off. And make yourself a sandwich. Before it goes too bad. But. Brothers and sisters.

[30:37] Sometimes. You've just got to say. No. That is not worth rescuing. There's nothing good about this. I'm just going to put it in the bin. All right. And sometimes it's like that. With teaching. You might say. I can get some good teaching.

[30:49] From all kinds of sources. And you can. But be careful. That it's not starting to saturate. And permeate. The whole lump. Where it's just the whole rotten package. And.

[31:00] Will you just give way. Just a little bit. Just a little bit. Just a little bit of leaven. Careful brother. Careful sister. Investigate. Interrogate. Search the scriptures.

[31:12] And see if these things are so. Just to recap. Your glorying is not good. Knowing you're not that. A little leaven. Leaven of the whole lump. Purge out.

[31:22] No words. Chuck it out. Clean it out. Clear it out. Have a. Have a spring clean. Purge it out. Rip it out. Chuck it out. Therefore the old leaven. That you may be a new lump.

[31:32] As you are unleavened. People. We should be unleavened. And that means we should be free. From leaven. We shouldn't have a bit of it. We shouldn't have a bit of it about. For even Christ our Passover.

[31:42] Is sacrificed for us. The context again. It's our Passover. Communion time. We think. We examine ourselves. We ask the Lord to search our hearts. Like that too. Every day.

[31:52]  Every moment. We should have that mentality. Christ our Passover. Is sacrificed for us. We want to be right with God. Therefore let us kick the feast. Not with.